Rumplestiltskin and the Resurrection Stone
by Scribbles-by-Kate
Summary: Missing Belle, Rumplestiltskin hears of a stone that can bring back the dead. He sets out to find it, but what he finds isn't what he expected. Post "Skin Deep" one-shot. RumBelle, Harry/Ginny


So, here's the OUaT/HP crossover one shot that I promised. I thought it might be an interesting scenario, so I hope you like it. Obviously, I've fudged the time lines of HP and OUaT to make this happen, but just call me the Doctor :) Oh, and there's a line borrowed from the Doctor in here too - virtual chocolate chip cookies to those who spot it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own either HP or OUaT - they belong to JK Rowling and ABC respectively. I'm making no money from this, just having some fun in two amazing fictional worlds :)

I hope you enjoy and comments are always welcome :)

**Rumplestiltskin and the Resurrection Stone**

Rumplestiltskin knew practically all there was to know about magic. He'd been around long enough and had steeped himself enough in the art that there wasn't much he didn't know. Yet even he could be surprised. It rarely happened, but he was always open to it: you never knew when you would find something that could be useful, and he was always on the lookout for ways to enhance his power.

And so, as he sat spinning one evening, trying to forget, as usual, a whisper from another realm did surprise him: in fact, it shocked him to his core.

At first he thought the girl was just telling a children's story, but then he heard her talk of a stone that could bring back the dead and that was when he stopped the wheel. She mentioned other things as well: a cloak of invisibility and a powerful wand. He'd no need of those things: he had his own means of making himself invisible and he hardly needed a wand to make himself powerful, but a stone that could bring back the dead: wouldn't _that_ be something?

There was nothing like this stone in his world: he'd know about it already if there were, but magic was not the same in all the worlds. In the world where the girl talked of a Resurrection Stone, the magic users kept themselves hidden and used wands to practice their art. He needed to find this girl: find the girl and her friends and he would find the stone. He ignored the various pleas for help that came to him, as interesting as some of them sounded, and turned his magic towards finding a way to get to the world where sorcerers used wands and spoke of stones to bring back the dead.

He quickly found the way, through an archway into a cavernous room in what the wizards of that world called the Department of Mysteries. The archway was a passage for the dead, but his magic would protect him. From there, he could easily find the girl and her friends, and the stone.

It took barely no time at all until he was standing in their camp, watching the girl with the wild hair casting her spells to keep all but him out. He listened to her argue with the boy with the black hair about the things from her story, watched the boy grow convinced of the truth of his words that these _Hallows_ were something he was _meant_ to have.

The boy said the stone was in the little golden ball in his hand, but he wasn't able to open it. Rumplestiltskin itched to take it from him, but his foresight told him to wait: there was a prophecy about this boy that must be fulfilled in order to save this world. Well, he thought, he could wait a while: let the prophecy play itself out and then he could return for the stone.

0O0

It was weeks before he came back and when he did it was into the middle of a battle. He stayed out of it, wanting only the stone.

He found the boy with the black hair, the Chosen One, this world called him, as he was walking through a forest. He had the golden ball in his hand and Rumplestiltskin saw him touch it to his lips and say something. The ball opened and the boy removed the stone.

Rumplestiltskin giggled in maniacal glee, knowing the boy couldn't hear him. Soon he would have the stone for himself: soon he could bring her back. Oh, the thought of that, of seeing her lovely face again…

Suddenly he saw the figures appear: three men and a woman. They were ghostly, but they were there, able to talk with the boy, and that was enough for Rumplestiltskin: not everything, but enough.

He listened as the boy – Harry Potter – talked with the shades of his dead parents and their friends. He heard him ask what it felt like to die and ask his mother to stay close to him. Then he walked on through the forest, the ghostly apparitions at his side, until, finally, he dropped the stone and they vanished.

Rumplestiltskin saw his prize roll away into the undergrowth and he crouched down, searching for it. Not now, he could not lose it now, would not lose it now… Just as he was growing desperate, just as he thought it was lost to him, he spied it and grabbed for it, laughing gleefully.

Holding it in his hand, he left the forest, left Harry Potter to sacrifice himself and return again to end the war for good, and spelled himself back through the archway to the Dark Castle.

Once there, standing by his spinning wheel, he held the stone in his palm and, with the fingers of his other hand, turned it carefully thrice, as the story said.

Holding his breath, he waited; nothing happened. He tried it once more: nothing. He tried it again: still nothing.

No, no, no, no, no! _Why_ wouldn't it work? It _had_ to work: he had to see her again, just once, _just one more time_!

He tried it again and again, but she did not appear, and eventually he began to believe that it wouldn't work for him in his world. That was it: he had to go back to the world the stone came from! Magic didn't always travel well from realm to realm: that must be it. But then, would she come to him in that world? He pondered on that for a long moment and realised that she _would_ come to him there even though she had died here because the dead travel roads different from the living and can pass between worlds as easily as blinking. She would come to him there: he would see her again. He had wanted to see her in the Dark Castle again, but if that was not to be, he must accept it: at least he would see her.

He returned to the forest clearing where Harry Potter had used the stone and, closing his eyes, he concentrated on her face. He turned the stone three times in his hand and waited, holding his breath once again.

An eternity seemed to pass and he remained alone in the clearing, bitterness filling his heart. _Once_, that was all he'd wanted, just one visit with her, just so that he could tell her how sorry he was, how much he truly loved her, how he wished he could go back and fix his mistakes, but his one hope had failed him.

He looked down at the stone in his hand, frowning. It _had_ worked, he'd seen it work for the Chosen One, so why not for him? He was the most powerful magical being in all the realms, so why would this stone not work for him?

He wanted an answer to that question and, by the gods, he would get one.

0O0

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna had spent the afternoon in the orchard at the Burrow, just being together and trying to take in the fact that it was all over at last. There had been talking, and tears, and laughter too, and now they were all just sitting quietly together, enjoying the sun, enjoying each other's company, enjoying being alive. Harry could hardly believe he'd been so fortunate as to live and he was grateful for it. He smiled, hugging Ginny closer.

'Well, isn't this a cosy little gathering?' a high-pitched voice called, making them all jump to their feet, with wands out, looking around warily for the source of the voice.

Harry stared as he saw the man jump from a low-hanging branch of the tree in front of him. Wait: was it a man? His skin was a strange colour: greenish, greyish, gold, and a strange texture, almost like scales, like nothing Harry'd ever seen before, and his hands were like claws, with those long black nails. He looked more like a goblin or a lizard than a man, but he was taller than a goblin, and he had a man's shape, not a lizard's, and a man's eyes, though they were gold and rather reptilian, and even the twisted, curled hair was a man's hair.

'Harry Potter,' he greeted in that high voice, with a demented giggle added on at the end: 'the Chosen One.' He bowed gracefully.

'Who are you?' Harry demanded, feeling uncomfortable at being called that. He gripped his wand tightly. The man/lizard/goblin's eyes flicked to it briefly, but seemed disdainful rather than fearful of the implement.

'Who am I? Well, now, that's a question.'

Harry watched him pace almost lazily before him. He certainly didn't seem fearful of getting Stunned or hit with any other kind of spell. He was all extravagant flourishes and prancing steps, a strange sight to behold.

'Who _are_ you?' Harry demanded again, impatient now, 'and what do you want?'

'He's Rumplestiltskin,' Luna said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The man/lizard/goblin grinned, showing stained teeth. 'Clever, dearie.'

'What?' Harry and the others asked as one.

'He's Rumplestiltskin,' Luna said again, a patient expression on her face.

'Luna, Rumplestiltskin is just a myth, a fairytale,' Hermione insisted in a long-suffering tone of voice.

'And those Hallows from your tale, were they a myth, dearie?' the man/lizard/goblin – Rumplestiltskin – asked.

Hermione stared at him. 'How did you know about those?'

He tapped the side of his nose. 'Ways and means, dearie.'

'Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I suggest you start talking, Rumplestiltskin or whoever the hell you are,' Harry stated.

'And I suggest you listen to your knowledgeable friend more,' the creature said, tilting his head towards Luna. Harry heard Hermione huff in irritation behind him.

'The name is Rumplestiltskin, also known as –'

'The Dark One,' Hermione supplied. Harry figured she didn't want to be outdone by Luna, even if she did believe the creature was only a fairytale.

'Correct, dearie: you're catching on.'

'Yes, well, Harry's already vanquished one Dark Lord,' she said, 'and I'm sure that together we can deal with you.' She held her wand higher, ready for battle.

'That's right,' Ron agreed, matching her stance.

Rumplestiltskin or the Dark One laughed. 'I wouldn't bet on it, dearie; besides, I haven't come here for a fight.'

'So what did you come for?' Neville asked, glaring warily at Rumplestiltskin.

'Not to harm you, I promise,' the scaly-skinned figure said, raising a clawed hand in a gesture of peace: 'you've all suffered enough for ten lifetimes already.'

Oddly, Harry believed him on both counts, that he wouldn't hurt them and that he was aware of what they'd been through. He lowered his wand cautiously.

'Why _have_ you come, then?' he queried.

'Merely to ask you a question, Harry Potter, about this.' He opened his hand with a flourish and Harry saw the Resurrection Stone sitting on his palm.

'Where did you get that?'

'I picked it up after you dropped it in the forest. I have need of it.'

'But how did you know about it?' Hermione asked.

'From your story, dearie,' he said. 'My magic is powerful enough to reach across realms and I heard you telling your tale several weeks ago. I had need of this stone, so I came to find it, and find it I did.'

'You wanted the stone?' Harry asked, 'not the wand?'

'I don't _need_ to use a wand to make magic,' Rumplestiltskin returned somewhat petulantly, and Harry sensed the strange creature had something against wands.

'Alright,' he said appeasingly, 'so you wanted the stone: you have it. I'm sure you know how it works, so what do you want of me?'

'That's precisely it, Harry Potter,' he said, his voice almost despairing. 'I _know_ it works, I saw it work for you, but it won't work for me.'

'But if you're a wizard,' Harry began, '…you _are_ a wizard, aren't you?' Rumplestiltskin shot him a very dark look.

'Yes, he is,' Luna confirmed. 'His magic's different from ours and he doesn't need a wand, but he is magical: the stone should work for him.' She came forward a bit. 'Whom did you wish to see?' she asked curiously.

Rumplestiltskin's expression turned even darker. 'Luna, I don't think it's a good idea to ask him that,' Harry said softly. 'Anyway, the stone is more trouble than it's worth.'

Rumplestiltskin looked at him. 'Why do you say that?'

'Because the dead aren't meant to come back: they're meant to rest. That stone would bring back a shadow of a person and you would get to see them and talk to them, but eventually they would pine away and it would be horrible, for them and for you. That stone is trouble.'

'Yet you used it to bring your parents back.'

Harry was suddenly angry that this man or goblin or whatever he was had watched him with his parents, Sirius, and Remus. 'You had no right to watch that, by the way,' he stated, 'but in my mind, I wasn't bringing them back: they were coming to take me with them.' Ginny grabbed his hand suddenly and he looked at her and squeezed her hand reassuringly. He was here now, with her, and they had the rest of their lives to be together.

'Tell me, dearie,' Rumplestiltskin said, shooting her a calculating look, 'would you have brought him back, if he hadn't come back to you and you had this stone?'

'Stop it!' Harry demanded, feeling Ginny shudder beside him. He put his arms around her and tried to soothe her.

'That's cruel!' Hermione cried: 'you shouldn't ask such a question.'

Rumplestiltskin didn't move, but he kept his gaze on Ginny, waiting.

'You don't have to answer him, Ginny,' Neville said, pointing his wand at Rumplestiltskin.

'No, but she will,' the creature said knowingly.

Ginny looked at him and, safe in the circle of a very-much-alive Harry's arms, she nodded. 'I would have wanted to see him again, even if it was just once.'

'Exactly so,' the strange creature responded, seeming to understand all about it.

'We all have people we'd want to see,' Hermione said: 'Professor Dumbledore, Moody, Tonks–'

'Fred,' Ron supplied, voice bitter.

'Yes, I'm sure,' Rumplestiltskin agreed, 'but her desire would have been different, wouldn't it? Her wish would have been to see her true love and that's a very powerful wish indeed, one a person might give anything to make a reality.'

'So that was what you wanted,' Hermione filled in, looking sceptical, 'to see your true love?'

'It was,' Rumplestiltskin replied, obviously not seeing the point in denying or hiding it now, since he'd all but given it away.

There was silence for a long moment and then Ginny looked at him. 'I answered your question,' she said, 'now you answer mine.'

'You want to know her name,' he said. She nodded; so did he. 'Her name was Belle.'

'Beauty,' Hermione said softly, almost to herself: 'Beauty and–'

'The Beast,' he finished, knowing of the fairy stories that existed in other worlds: 'yes. Surprised that a monster could love or that someone could love a monster?'

'Both,' Hermione stated boldly.

Rumplestiltskin sighed and it seemed not to even occur to him to try to hurt Hermione. Riddle wouldn't have hesitated to curse her for talking to him like that.

'Yes, well, Belle was no ordinary woman.' His voice was sad: he missed her.

'I'm sorry,' Harry said and meant it.

Something very human looked at him from Rumplestiltskin's reptilian eyes. 'I wanted to say sorry,' he said, 'for hurting her, for not trusting her, for throwing her away, for being such a coward, but I can't because I can't make the stone work. I just wanted one more glimpse of her.'

Harry saw the teardrop slide down his cheek and realised that beneath the strange appearance beat the heart of a man. He looked about as frightening as Riddle, but he was capable of love where Riddle wasn't, so that title of his – the Dark One – didn't really fit after all.

'The stone should work for you,' he said quietly: 'the only reason I can think of for it not working would be–'

'If she wasn't dead,' Ginny filled in.

'What?' Rumplestiltskin looked at them, his face hopeful for a moment, but then it faded and he shook his head. 'I know she's dead: I saw her grave.'

'But did you see her die?' Luna asked.

'No.'

'So who told you she was dead?' Hermione asked.

He stared at her; then bared his teeth in a vicious snarl and Ron came to stand before her, but Harry could tell the threat wasn't directed at her.

'Regina,' the man/lizard/goblin hissed dangerously.

Harry had no idea who he was talking about, but he'd hate to be her when Rumplestiltskin caught up with her.

'You have your answer then,' he said, and Rumplestiltskin nodded, and grinned.

'I most certainly do.' He bowed deeply. 'My humblest thanks to all of you. Should you ever have need of a favour, I'm in your debt.' He was gone in a flash of red smoke, leaving Harry and his friends completely bewildered by the whole episode.

0O0

Regina wanted to see him, which was just as well, since he _very_ much wanted to see her. What he really wanted was to rip her throat out, but there would be time for revenge when he had Belle back safe and sound. He knew what she wanted to see him about anyway, this curse she wanted created, which, as it turned out, he wanted to create, so he could bargain for Belle and get _everything_ he wanted: very convenient.

'So, can you do it?' Regina demanded.

'Of course I can, dearie,' he said carelessly as he walked away from her; then he turned back and grinned viciously, 'for a price.'

She pursed her lips. 'Of course: what did you have in mind?'

'Oh, something you won't want to give, dearie,' he returned.

'Is it ever anything else?' she demanded, sounding bored.

'Ah, but this is different,' he said ominously.

'Fine,' she snapped: 'what do you want?'

He walked towards her slowly, grinning. 'I want what you stole from me,' he hissed.

She pretended not to know what he meant. 'What am I supposed to have stolen?' she asked, laughing lightly.

He grabbed her by the throat. Her guards came to her aid, but a wave of his hand sent them all crashing into the walls.

'_Don't_ play games with me,' he snarled. 'You want your happy ending?' She nodded. 'Then give her back to me.'

He squeezed the queen's throat, knowing she'd agree, knowing she wasn't powerful enough to fight him.

'So, dearie, do we have a deal?' he asked, his voice deadly calm.

Regina nodded desperately.

'Say it!' he demanded.

'We have…a deal,' the queen gasped, and he let her go.

He waited for her to catch her breath and smiled as she ordered one of her men to go to the tower and bring the girl locked in there. Rumplestiltskin sent some magic with the guard to be sure that Belle came unharmed.

'How did you know?' Regina asked, showing her interest to hide her anger. Now that she'd been found out, she wanted to know how.

'I figured it out,' he said cryptically.

'Alone?'

'No.'

'Who helped you?'

He flashed his teeth at her. 'No one you need ever be concerned about, dearie.' And they weren't: they were just a group of young wizards and witches who had fought a war and now deserved some peace. He knew the horrors of war: he could relate.

'You know, I didn't really steal her from you,' she said conversationally, trying to find some way to get under his skin again.

'No?' he queried: he knew her game.

'You threw her away, like a piece of trash.' She walked around, trying to show she wasn't fazed by him, but he could see her watching him carefully.

He had to acknowledge the truth of that. 'A mistake I won't be making again.' He started walking too, so they were almost circling each other. 'But perhaps I should have phrased my demand differently, should have said I want what you _concealed_ from me.' He bared his teeth at her. 'You shouldn't have done that, Regina,' he hissed.

'Well, you can't blame a girl for trying to get the upper hand, can you Rumple?' She smiled a little then, some new way to annoy him occurring to her. 'You really think she'll want to go with you?' she asked disbelievingly.

He wouldn't fall for her taunting again. 'That's up to her, but I think she will.'

She shot him a withering look. 'True love?' She snorted.

'Don't mock it, dearie: I know you felt it, once upon a time.' Ah, that one hit home: he could see it by the way she glared at him.

He smiled cruelly. 'Touched a nerve? Oh, I'm sorry. Next time you'd do well not to keep someone I love from me.'

'Rumple-Rumplestiltskin?'

He turned at the sound of the sweet voice and saw her. She was thinner and paler, but her eyes were just as blue and she was just as beautiful and she was looking at him with such…love.

'Hello, Belle.'

'You came,' she whispered, and came running towards him.

He caught her. 'I did.' He wanted to hold her, just hold her tight, but Regina's presence set him on edge. He wanted Belle away from her, and quickly.

He looked at the queen, who looked on with seemingly little interest, though he could tell it affected her. 'You'll have your curse,' he told her, and then he wrapped Belle up in his magic and took her away with him.

0O0

Belle looked around at all the familiar things, her eyes finally coming to rest on the spinning wheel. She reached out and touched it; then she smiled and tears ran down her cheeks.

'I thought I'd never see you again,' she said, voice breaking. 'I thought you'd never come for me.'

'She told me you were dead,' he said: 'I saw a grave.'

'How did you find out she lied?'

'Some witches and wizards from another world helped me figure it out.'

She smiled. 'I'd like to thank them some day.'

He knelt on the ground before her like a supplicant and looked up at her beautiful face. 'I'm sorry,' he said softly: 'I was a fool and a coward. I should never have let you go. Can you ever forgive me?'

She touched his cheek gently and smiled; then knelt before him. 'I forgive you. Can you forgive me?'

He touched her hair. 'For what?'

'I would have taken your power away,' she said softly: 'I never wanted to do that, just break your curse. I'm sorry, I didn't know, I didn't understand.'

He stroked her cheek gently. 'Belle, there's nothing to forgive. I should've been honest with you that day, should've told you why I acquired this power in the first place; why I need to hold onto it.'

She studied his face. 'This is about your son, isn't it?'

'How is it you know me so well?' he queried, smiling.

She sent him an answering smile. 'Because I love you.'

'And I love you,' he returned, and then he told her everything.

0O0

Harry and Ginny walked through the park hand-in-hand, enjoying the warm weather and each other's company. Up ahead, another couple was coming towards them, a man in an expensive suit with a cane in his right hand and a woman in a blue dress. Harry and Ginny nodded as they approached, but something about the man made them both frown and slow their steps.

'Mr and Mrs Potter,' the man said, greeting them with a smile. The woman beside him smiled too.

'Have we met?' Harry asked, almost certain that he knew the man from _somewhere_.

'Once upon a time,' the stranger said: 'it was quite a long time ago now, dearie.'

Ginny gasped. 'Rumplestiltskin?'

The man smiled at her. 'Correct, dearie.'

'You look different,' Harry observed: 'no weird scaly skin.'

Rumplestiltskin made a face. 'Yes, well, a lot's happened since then.'

'So, you _were_ a man before you were a-a…what exactly were you?' Harry asked.

Rumplestiltskin made another face. 'I've been known by many names, dearie: Dark One, dealmaker, trickster, imp, spinner, coward, Rumplestiltskin, Hobblefoot, Spindleshanks, Mr Gold, monster, beast. Take your pick.'

The woman beside him squeezed his arm. 'You're not a beast, or a monster, or a coward,' she told him in a soft, accented voice, 'so stop that.'

He sent her a small smile and then looked back at Harry and Ginny. 'Yes, I was a man before I was the Dark One and now I'm a man again.'

'How?' Harry asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

'It's a very long story,' Rumplestiltskin said, 'involving some curses and a long wait, but at the heart of it all is love.' He smiled at his companion again.

Harry looked at the pretty brunette and wondered if she was the woman Rumplestiltskin had been desperate to see all those years ago, the woman he'd thought had died.

'Are you Belle?' Ginny asked her; the brunette nodded and smiled.

'So you found her,' Harry said, and smiled.

'Thanks to you,' Rumplestiltskin said.

'Yes, thank you,' Belle added. 'Thank you for helping him see the truth. As powerful as he is, sometimes he needs someone to show him the way.'

Rumplestiltskin smiled at her and then looked at Harry and Ginny again. 'How are your friends?' he asked, 'the ones who were with you that day? All happy, all well?'

'Yes,' Harry said, seeing the genuine concern in the man's eyes.

'Good, and both of you?'

Ginny squeezed Harry's hand. 'Very happy.'

'Good, well, we just wanted to stop by and thank you again, now that we're at liberty to do so, and I wanted to return this to you.' He held out his hand: the Resurrection Stone was sitting atop it. 'Dispose of it as you see fit: I have no further need of it.'

Harry took it from him. 'I'm sure I'll lose it somewhere along the path.'

Rumplestiltskin nodded. 'I never did get to return that favour I owe you all,' he said, 'and I'm afraid our paths are not likely to cross again.'

'Tell you what,' Harry said, 'let's make a deal: go and live your life, go and be happy together. Do that, and we'll consider the favour repaid.'

Rumplestiltskin smiled; then looked at Belle. 'What do you think, sweetheart: very favourable terms, wouldn't you say?'

'I would,' Belle agreed, smiling.

'A fitting final deal?'

'Very fitting.'

'Final deal?' Harry asked.

Rumplestiltskin nodded. 'Coming to see you two was my last bit of business before I give up magic.'

'You're giving up your magic?' Ginny queried, eyes wide.

'I made a promise to my lovely wife a long time ago,' he said, looking at Belle, 'that I'd only hold onto the power until I'd done everything I needed to, and now that I have, it's time to make good on my promise. So, I accept your terms, Mr Potter, and I thank you.' He held out his hand and Harry shook it.

'Goodbye, Rumplestiltskin, and good luck.'

'Goodbye,' Ginny said, smiling.

Belle let go of her husband long enough to hug Harry and Ginny in turn, whispering a grateful 'thank you' to both of them.

'You're welcome,' Harry murmured, smiling at her. The woman looked very happy, so obviously Rumplestiltskin had taken good care of her. He smiled and put his arm around his wife as Rumplestiltskin did the same with his.

The couples nodded and smiled at each other once more and then resumed their walk in opposite directions.

'Wait till the others hear about this,' Harry commented.

Ginny chuckled. 'I think Hermione's half convinced herself it didn't really happen.'

Harry laughed and looked back at the other couple, who were holding hands as they walked.

'I'm glad he found her.'

Ginny smiled. 'Me too.'

Harry smiled at his wife and the couple continued their walk.

'They were nice,' Belle commented.

'Yes they were,' her husband agreed, 'and as brave as you, sweetheart.' He smiled at her.

She smiled back. 'So, that's it.'

'That's it,' he agreed.

She squeezed his hand. 'It won't hurt you, will it?'

She meant the procedure he'd found to strip himself of magic. 'No, sweetheart, it won't. These powers have been more of a burden than a blessing.'

'And you're sure, that you want to do it, I mean?'

He stopped walking and she did too. 'I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Belle, apart from my love for you and Bae.'

Belle kissed him sweetly. 'We'd better get back: he'll be waiting.'

Rumplestiltskin nodded and called up his magic to spirit them back to Storybrooke. Just before they were whisked away, he sent a final word of thanks to the Potters and their friends for helping him see the truth so he could find his way back to happiness with his beautiful Belle.

**The End**

Thanks so much for reading :)


End file.
